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The temperature regimes and observed species abundances indicate that water should condense in the stratospheres of each of the giant planets. Water reaches its condensation temperature at higher altitudes than hydrocarbon photochemical products, and water ice particles could then act as condensation nuclei for hydrocarbons deeper in the lower stratosphere. This is especially true for Uranus, where sluggish atmospheric mixing confines hydrocarbons to relatively low altitudes. Additionally, water ice particles could explain the high-altitude hazes seen in high-phase angle Voyager 2 images of Neptune. Using PlanetCARMA - an aerosol microphysics model which simulates nucleation, condensation, evaporation, coagulation, and vertical transport in a column of atmosphere – we will describe particle number density profiles and size distributions of water ice particles in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune. Sensitivity tests include (1) nucleation – homogeneous vs. heterogeneous (including varying size, abundance, and contact parameter for the cloud condensation nuclei); (2) Vapor pressure equation; (3) water abundance and flux; and (4) degree to which physical processes are important, such as coagulation, condensation, and evaporation. Understanding the role of water ice in the ice giant atmospheres is important to further our understanding of the observed stratospheric hazes as well as the more optically thick methane clouds seen in the troposphere.

A cloud opacity contrast feature that has been called a “long-lived sharp disruption” has been seen in the atmosphere of Venus in the near-infrared using Akatsuki’s IR2 camera, most clearly at equatorial latitudes. This feature was found to have a consistent planet-circling period of 4.9 days, and subsequent searches of past imagery revealed that it has probably existed for at least 30 years, the duration of near-infrared investigation of the deep atmosphere of Venus. Guided by the remarkably consistent morphological appearance of this feature, we have identified at least one previous instance of it in the Venus Express Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) data. We take advantage of the spectroscopic capabilities of VIRTIS to retrieve atmospheric parameters in the vicinity of this feature that cannot be retrieved using the limited filter selection on board Akatsuki. We find that the changes in measurable quantities, such as cloud particle acid mass fraction, water vapor, carbon monoxide, cloud base altitude, and particle size, suggest that the changes that take place in the vicinity of this feature are restricted to the lower clouds of Venus (below 50 km). We hypothesize that further evolution of this feature (over timescales of days to weeks) results in measurable variations in these parameters at altitudes in the middle clouds of Venus (50–57 km), lending credence to its identification as a baroclinic trough or Kelvin front.

International audience; More than 85% of the 23 investigations developed by VEXAG are largely accomplished via a NF mission centered on a variable-altitude balloon (aerobot) supported by a science/comm orbiter. Circling Venus >15 times over ~90 days, the aerobot repeatedly visits 52-62 km alts as it semi-continuously samples a host of environmental & surface parameters.

The understanding of spatial and temporal variations in tropospheric abundances of the trace gas carbon monoxide (CO) is key to understanding the deep atmospheric circulation on Venus. CO is entrained in the global circulation, as well as being key ingredients in the multi-reaction chemical cycle that creates and destroys the sulfuric acid that is a primary constituent of the clouds. Long-term temporal variations of CO across Venus’ disc would provide critical insights and constraints into the large-scale circulation and cloud forming processes in the troposphere. Here, we present an in-depth look at the CO as a function of latitude, longitude and local time as seen by the VIRTIS-M-IR instrument onboard the Venus Express spacecraft during its three years of operation. We find that CO is slightly enhanced on the dusk hemisphere near the poles (by ∼2 ppmv) and the equatorial concentrations from 22:00 – 03:00 are also elevated. Longitudinal variations of CO are largely absent, except for a potential correlation of anomalous CO around Themis Regio. These observations provide the most stringent constraints yet on global dynamics and CO chemistry of the deep troposphere on Venus.

Planetary-scale waves are thought to play a role in powering the yet-unexplained atmospheric superrotation of Venus. Puzzlingly, while Kelvin, Rossby and stationary waves manifest at the upper clouds (65--70 km), no planetary-scale waves or stationary patterns have been reported in the intervening level of the lower clouds (48--55 km), although the latter are probably Lee waves. Using observations by the Akatsuki orbiter and ground-based telescopes, we show that the lower clouds follow a regular cycle punctuated between 30$^{\circ}$N--40$^{\circ}$S by a sharp discontinuity or disruption with potential implications to Venus's general circulation and thermal structure. This disruption exhibits a westward rotation period of $\sim$4.9 days faster than winds at this level ($\sim$6-day period), alters clouds' properties and aerosols, and remains coherent during weeks. Past observations reveal its recurrent nature since at least 1983, and numerical simulations show that a nonlinear Kelvin wave reproduces many of its properties., Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, 2 animated figures and 2 tables

International audience

More than three decades have passed since the publication of the last review of the Venus clouds and hazes. The paper published in 1983 in the Venus book summarized the discoveries and findings of the US Pioneer Venus and a series of Soviet Venera spacecraft (Esposito et al. in Venus, p. 484, 1983). Due to the emphasis on in-situ investigations from descent probes, those missions established the basic features of the Venus cloud system, its vertical structure, composition and microphysical properties. Since then, significant progress in understanding of the Venus clouds has been achieved due to exploitation of new observation techniques onboard Galileo and Messenger flyby spacecraft and Venus Express and Akatsuki orbiters. They included detailed investigation of the mesospheric hazes in solar and stellar occultation geometry applied in the broad spectral range from UV to thermal IR. Imaging spectroscopy in the near-IR transparency “windows” on the night side opened a new and very effective way of sounding the deep atmosphere. This technique together with near-simultaneous UV imaging enabled comprehensive study of the cloud morphology from the cloud top to its deep layers. Venus Express operated from April 2006 until December 2014 and provided a continuous data set characterizing Venus clouds and hazes over a time span of almost 14 Venus years thus enabling a detailed study of temporal and spatial variability. The polar orbit of Venus Express allowed complete latitudinal coverage. These studies are being complemented by JAXA Akatsuki orbiter that began observations in May 2016. This paper reviews the current status of our knowledge of the Venus cloud system focusing mainly on the results acquired after the Venera, Pioneer Venus and Vega missions.

International audience; Venus is a terrestrial planet enshrouded by 20 km-thick clouds, which are composed of sulphuric acid-water solution droplets. To understand the Venus atmosphere, LMD and LATMOS laboratories have developed a 3D IPSL Venus Global Climate Model (Lebonnois et al. 2010). In this GCM, the cloud description is simplified. As clouds play a crucial role in radiative transfer, dynamics and generally the climate of Venus, it is necessary to improve the VGCM with a microphysical representation. To this end, we develop a Modal Aerosol Dynamics of Venusian Liquid Aerosol cloud model (MAD-VenLA). This model uses an implicit moment scheme to describe the particle size distribution and the microphysical processes in 0D. The particle size distribution is described by its first moments: total particle number (zeroth moment) and total particle volume (third moment) of the size distribution (Seigneur et al. 1986, Burgalat et al. 2014). Moreover, with this representation, the form of the size distribution is assumed to be a log-normal function. To represent a source of aerosol particles and the sedimentation of our cloud droplets, we have developed a 1D extension to our model. We are currently coupling MAD-VenLA with the 1D version of the IPSL Venus GCM.First, we will describe MAD-VenLA. Then, for validation, we will compare it with the sectional model SALSA in 0D (Kokkola et al. 2008), and with the CARMA Venus model (McGouldrick et al. 2007) and the Pioneer Venus LCPS observations (Knollenberg and Hunten, 1980) in 1D.In case of successful validation in 1D, we will be able to conduct 3D simulations with full microphysics in the future.

第17回宇宙科学シンポジウム (2017年1月5日-6日. 宇宙航空研究開発機構宇宙科学研究所(JAXA)(ISAS)相模原キャンパス), 相模原市, 神奈川県, 17th Space Science Symposium (January 5-6, 2017. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA)(ISAS)Sagamihara Campus), Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan, 著者人数: 15名, 資料番号: SA6000060134, レポート番号: P-092

International audience; To understand the Venus atmosphere, LMD and LATMOS laboratories have developed a 3D IPSL Venus Global Climate Model (Lebonnois et al. 2010). In this GCM, the cloud description is simplified. As clouds play a crucial role in radiative transfer, dynamics and generally the climate of Venus, it is necessary to improve the VGCM with a microphysical representation.

Observations of Venus using the ultraviolet filter of the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) on ESA’s Venus Express Spacecraft (VEX) provide the best opportunity for study of the spatial and temporal distribution of the venusian unknown ultraviolet absorber since the Pioneer Venus (PV) mission. We compare the results of two sets of 125 radiative transfer models of the upper atmosphere of Venus to each pixel in a subset of VMC UV channel images. We use a quantitative best fit criterion based upon the notion that the distribution of the unknown absorber should be independent of the illumination and observing geometry. We use the product of the cosines of the incidence and emission angles and search for absorber distributions that are uncorrelated with this geometric parameter, finding that two models can describe the vertical distribution of the unknown absorber. One model is a well-mixed vertical profile above a pressure level of roughly 120 mb (∼63 km). This is consistent with the altitude of photochemical formation of sulfuric acid. The second model describes it as a thin layer of pure UV absorber at a pressure level roughly around 24 mb (∼71 km) and this altitude is consistent with the top of upper cloud deck. We find that the average abundance of unknown absorber in the equatorial region is 0.21 ± 0.04 optical depth and it decreases in the polar region to 0.08 ± 0.05 optical depth at 365 nm.

We present an analysis of VIRTIS-M-IR observations of 1.74 μm emission from the nightside of Venus. The 1.74 μm window in the near infrared spectrum of Venus is an ideal proxy for investigating the evolution of middle and lower cloud deck opacity of Venus because it exhibits good signal to noise due to its brightness, good contrast between bright and dark regions, and few additional sources of extinction beside the clouds themselves. We have analyzed the data from the first 407 orbits (equivalent to 407 Earth days) of the Venus Express mission to determine the magnitude of variability in the 1.74 μm radiance. We have also performed an analysis of the evolution of individual features over a span of roughly 5–6 h on two successive orbits of Venus Express. We find that the overall 1.74 μm brightness of Venus has been increasing through the first 407 days of the mission, indicating a gradual diminishing of the cloud coverage and/or thickness, and that the lower latitudes exhibited more variability and more brightening than higher latitudes. We find that individual features evolve with a time scale of about 30 h, consistent with our previous analysis. Analysis of the evolution and motion of the clouds can be used to estimate the mesoscale dynamics within the clouds of Venus. We find that advection alone cannot explain the observed evolution of the features. The measured vorticity and divergence in the vicinity of the features are consistent with evolution under the influence of significant vertical motions likely driven by a radiative dynamical feedback. We measure a zonal wind speed of around 65 m/s, and a meridional wind speed around 2.5 m/s by tracking the motion of the central region of the features. But we also find that the measured wind speeds depend strongly on the points chosen for the wind speed analysis.

Making sense of exoplanet observations requires better understanding of terrestrial atmospheres in our solar system, especially for Venus. We need to not just intermittently explore, but continuously monitor these atmospheres — like we do for Earth.

Clouds and hazes composed of sulfuric acid are observed to exist or postulated to have once existed on each of the terrestrial planets with atmospheres in our solar system. Venus today maintains a global cover of clouds composed of a sulfuric acid/water solution that extends in altitude from roughly 50 km to roughly 80 km. Terrestrial polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) form on stratospheric sulfuric acid aerosols, and both PSCs and stratospheric aerosols play a critical role in the formation of the ozone hole. Stratospheric aerosols can modify the climate when they are enhanced following volcanic eruptions, and are a current focus for geoengineering studies. Rain is made more acidic by sulfuric acid originating from sulfur dioxide generated by industry on Earth. Analysis of the sulfur content of Martian rocks has led to the hypothesis that an early Martian atmosphere, rich in SO 2 and H 2 O, could support a sulfur-infused hydrological cycle. Here we consider the plausibility of frozen sulfuric acid in the upper clouds of Venus, which could lead to lightning generation, with implications for observations by the European Space Agency's Venus Express and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Venus Climate Orbiter (also known as Akatsuki ). We also present simulations of a sulfur-rich early Martian atmosphere. We find that about 40 cm/yr of precipitation having a pH of about 2.0 could fall in an early Martian atmosphere, assuming a surface temperature of 273 K, and SO 2 generation rates consistent with the formation of Tharsis. This modeled acid rain is a powerful sink for SO 2 , quickly removing it and preventing it from having a significant greenhouse effect.

Near-infrared brightness temperature contrasts observed on the night side of Venus indicate variations in the size and distribution of particles in the lower and middle cloud decks. McGouldrick and Toon [McGouldrick, K., Toon, O.B., 2007. Icarus 191, 1–24] have shown that these changes can be explained by large-scale dynamics; in particular, that downdrafts may produce optical depth “holes” in the clouds. The lifetimes of these holes are observed to be moderately short, on the order of ten days. Here, we explore a simple model to better understand this lifetime. We have coupled a microphysical model of the Venus clouds with a simple, two-dimensional (zonal, vertical) kinematical transport model to study the effects of the zonal flow on the lifetime of the holes in the clouds. We find that although wind shear may be negligible within the cloud itself, the shear that is present near the top and the bottom of the statically unstable cloud region can lead to changes in the radiative-dynamical feedback which ultimately lead to the dissipation of the holes.

We present results of a simple two-dimensional model investigating the observable effects that convective motions and gravity waves can have on the condensational Venus cloud. Gravity waves have been observed in the Venus atmosphere in the form of temperature scintillations in the Magellan and Pioneer Venus occultation data. Multiple in situ probes and long-duration remote observations indicate the presence of convective motions in the Venus clouds. Dynamical studies by others have suggested that gravity waves can exist in the stable regions of the Venus atmosphere above the middle clouds and beneath the middle clouds, and likely are triggered by flow past sub-cloud plumes caused by convective overshooting. We find that a simplified treatment of convective kinematics generates variation in the Venus condensational cloud consistent with the observed variability of optical depth and 1.74 μ m brightness temperature. Specifically, we find that the downdraft regions in our simulated convective cell exhibit a decrease in cloud optical depth of around Δ τ ∼ 10 . The 1.74 μ m brightness temperature ranges from about 460 K in the downdraft regions of the simulated convective cells, to about 400 K in the simulated updrafts. We also find that gravity waves launched by obstacles (such as overshooting convective plumes) near the cloud base exhibit horizontal wavelengths comparable to the separation between convective cells, and generate variations in 1.74 μ m brightness temperature that should be observable by instruments such as VIRTIS on Venus Express. However, a more robust treatment of the atmospheric dynamics is needed to address adequately these interactions between the clouds and the mesoscale dynamics.

Near-infrared observations of the nightside of Venus reveal regions of high brightness temperatures. These regions of high brightness temperatures are caused by the localized evaporation of the middle and lower cloud decks, which are about 50 to 60 km above the surface of the planet. We simulate the Venus condensational middle and lower cloud deck with the University of Colorado/NASA Ames Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres (CARMA). Our simulated clouds have similar characteristics to the observed Venus clouds. Our radiative transfer model reproduces the observed temperature structure and atmospheric stability structure within the middle cloud region. A radiative-dynamical feedback occurs which generates mixing due to increased absorption of upwelling infrared radiation within the lower cloud region, as previously suggested by others. We find that localized variations in temperature structure or in sub-grid scale mixing cannot directly explain the longevity and optical depth of the clouds. However, vertical motions are capable of altering the cloud optical depth by a sufficient magnitude in a short enough timescale to be responsible for the observed clearings.

Corrigendum: Equatorial jet in the lower to middle cloud layer of Venus revealed by Akatsuki

Spatially-resolved near-infrared spectra from the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on Venus Express have been used to derive improved models of the vertical structure and global distribution of cloud properties in the southern hemisphere of Venus. VIRTIS achieved the first systematic, global mapping of Venus at wavelengths within transparency windows in the 1.6-2.6. μm range, which are sensitive on the nightside to absorption by the lower and middle cloud layers of thermally-emitted radiation from the hot lower atmosphere (Taylor, F.W., Crisp, D., Bézard, B. [1997]. Venus II: Geology, Geophysics, Atmosphere, and Solar Wind Environment, pp. 325-351). The cloud model used to interpret the spectra is based on previous work by Pollack et al. (Pollack, J., Dalton, J., Grinspoon, D., Wattson, R., Freedman, R., Crisp, D., Allen, D., Bézard, B., de Bergh, C., Giver, L. [1993]. Icarus 103, 1-42), Grinspoon et al. (Grinspoon, D.H., Pollack, J.B., Sitton, B.R., Carlson, R.W., Kamp, L.W., Baines, K.H., Encrenaz, T., Taylor, F.W. [1993]. Planet. Space Sci. 41, 515-542) and Crisp (Crisp, D. [1986]. Icarus 67, 484-514), and assumes a composition for the cloud particles of sulfuric acid and water, with acid concentration as a free parameter to be determined. Other retrieved parameters are the average size of the particles and the altitude of the cloud base in the model. Latitudinal variation in the atmospheric temperature structure was incorporated using data from the Venus Radio Science experiment (VeRa). Values are estimated initially using wavelength pairs selected for their unique sensitivity to each parameter, and then validated by comparing measured to calculated spectra over the entire wavelength range, the latter generated using the NEMESIS radiative transfer and retrieval code (Irwin, P.G.J., Teanby, N.A., de Kok, R., Fletcher, L.N., Howett, C.J.A., Tsang, C.C.C., Wilson, C.F., Calcutt, S.B., Nixon, C.A., Parrish, P.D. [2008]. J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Trans. 109, 1136-1150). The sulfuric acid concentration in the cloud particles is found to be higher in regions of optically thick cloud. The cloud base altitude shows a dependence on latitude, reaching a maximum height near -50°. The increased average particle size near the pole found by Wilson et al. (Wilson, C.F., Guerlet, S., Irwin, P.G.J., Tsang, C.C.C., Taylor, F.W., Carlson, R.W., Drossart, P., Piccioni, G. [2008]. J. Geophys. Res. (Planets) 113, E12) and the finding of spatially variable water vapor abundance at35-40. km altitude first reported by Tsang et al. (Tsang, C.C.C., Wilson, C.F., Barstow, J.K., Irwin, P.G.J., Taylor, F.W., McGouldrick, K., Piccioni, G., Drossart, P., Svedhem, H. [2010]. Geophys. Res. Lett. 37, L02202) are both confirmed. The implications of these improved descriptions of cloud structure and variability for the chemistry, meteorology, and radiative energy balance on Venus are briefly discussed. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.

[1] We present an analysis of Venus Express Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) data, carried out to characterize the morphological, geographical, and evolutionary trends of the middle and lower cloud features that are observed in the atmosphere of Venus as variations in brightness temperatures in specific near-infrared wavelengths. In this preliminary study, we analyze only data collected over the span of 11 orbits. The mean radiance as a function of latitude is consistent with previous ground-based observations, indicating that the overall global distribution of mean cloud cover is stable, at least on a 10- to 20-year time scale. In contrast with the consistent level of radiance at high latitudes, a significant amount of variability to the radiance exists at lower latitudes, consistent with significant convective activity in the lower and middle cloud decks. The morphology of the holes tends from highly variable orientations of features with aspect ratios of nearly one at low latitudes, to very large aspect ratios and zonally oriented features at higher latitudes. The peak radiance of the holes appears not to demonstrate a latitudinal tendency. There is evidence of more variability to the morphology and radiance of features at lower latitudes. To investigate the evolution of the holes, we examine a sequence of images taken over a 5 h span of a single orbit. If this limited amount of data is representative, then the typical e-folding time scale for the evolution of a hole is about 1 day.

We present a computational random walk method of measuring the isothermal pressure of the lattice gas with and without the excluded volume interaction. The method is based on the discretization of the exact thermodynamic relation for the pressure. The simulation results are in excellent agreement with the theoretical predictions., 10 Pages, 2 Figures, Teaching Material. To Appear in Physica A

We have analyzed the long-term regional and global variation of emitted radiance in 1.74 µ m and 2.30 µ m near infrared spectral windows in the Venus atmosphere using the medium resolution, infrared channel of the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS-M-IR) on the Venus Express spacecraft. We find a periodic variation in the 1.74 µ m radiance that is most pronounced at mid-latitudes ( 30 ∘ − 60 ∘ latitude). This oscillation has a period of approximately 150 days, and is shown to be unlikely to be driven by variations in viewing geometry, nor by variations in instrumental characteristics such as spectrometer temperature. The oscillation has an amplitude at least as large as that of the typical day-to-day variations observed. The decay and recovery timescales are consistent with response of the cloud vertical structure to the radiative-dynamical feedback. It remains unclear why this variation would be seen only at mid-latitudes, but some hypotheses to guide future modeling testing are suggested.